List of EastEnders characters introduced in 2015
EastEnders is a BBC soap opera that first aired on 19 February 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2015, in order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the show's executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins. January saw the arrival of the year's first baby, Matthew Mitchell Cotton, son of Ronnie Mitchell and Charlie Cotton. The following month saw the show celebrate its 30th anniversary with a live week, which oversaw the live arrivals of Vincent Hubbard, and the second baby born in 2015, Pearl Fox-Hubbard, Vincent's daughter with Kim Fox-Hubbard. In March, Claudette Hubbard arrived as Donna Yates' foster mother and an acquaintance of Les Coker followed by Stan Carter's friend Cyril Bishop and Sharon Mitchell's aunt Margaret Midhurst, whilst Denise van Outen joined in April as Karin Smart. May saw the arrivals of June Whitfield as Sister Ruth, Mick and Linda Carter's son Ollie Carter, the year's third baby, Mo Harris' business associate [|Fat Elvis] and Kush Kazemi's mother, [|Carmel]. Paul Coker, the grandson of Les and Pam Coker, was introduced in June, as was Jade Masood, the long-lost daughter of Shabnam Masood and Dean Wicks. After Kathy Sullivan's surprise return during the 30th anniversary in February, her husband Gavin Sullivan made his debut in August. September saw the arrivals of Max Branning's prosecution lawyer Hazel Warren and Louie Beale, the baby son of Lauren Branning and Peter Beale. In October, Elaine Peacock's toyboy lover [|Jason Adams] was introduced, as well as first EastEnders transgender character to be played by a transgender actor, [|Kyle Slater]. December saw the birth of the year's fifth baby, Kush and Stacey Branning's son, [|Arthur Fowler]. Additionally, multiple other characters appeared throughout the year.
Matthew Cotton
Matthew Cotton, portrayed by Zack Karbritz, is the son of Charlie Cotton and Ronnie Mitchell. He is born during the episode broadcast on 1 January 2015 on his parents' wedding day.Matthew is born after Ronnie is involved in a car accident. She is later placed in a coma, due to her injuries. Her sister, Roxy Mitchell and her boyfriend Aleks Shirovs look after Matthew when Charlie refuses to see him, due to Ronnie's absence. Charlie's father, Nick Cotton, takes Matthew from Roxy, attempting to force Charlie to see his son but Charlie refuses and gives him back to Roxy. Aleks suggests naming him Matthew after Nick's mother Dot Branning quotes from the Gospel of Matthew. Aleks's daughter Ineta Shirovs becomes fed up with Aleks looking after Matthew and takes him to the bus stop, so they can go to the hospital. Charlie finds them and takes Matthew home. He and Roxy then share residency until Ronnie is discharged from hospital.
When Matthew is nine months old, he stays with Ronnie when she and Charlie separate, although Charlie vows to fight for custody. When Charlie tells Roxy he wants to take Matthew to France, she tells Ronnie. Roxy goes with Charlie but he soon realises that Ronnie and Roxy are working together when he sees Roxy constantly looking at her phone and Fatboy tells him that Vincent has told Ronnie, so he decides to leave with Matthew alone. However, Ronnie arrives before Charlie can board his train, and convinces him not to make the same mistakes as Nick did. Charlie leaves Matthew with Ronnie. Four days later, Charlie returns to Walford, having been persuaded by Dot to fight for custody, but Ronnie turns nasty when Charlie threatens to tell the police that she murdered Carl White and says that she will never see Matthew again. She and former boyfriend, Vincent Hubbard, confront Charlie, who, in fear of his life, disappears. Matthew lives with Ronnie and her ex-husband, Jack Branning, when they reunite in March 2016 and Jack and Roxy's daughter, Amy Mitchell later moves in. Matthew is nearly hit by a car when Hannah Reynolds steps into the road whilst holding him, but is saved by Andy Flynn, who pushes them out of the way of the approaching car.
On the night that Ronnie and Jack remarry on New Year's Day 2017, Ronnie and Roxy both die after drowning in the hotel swimming pool, leaving Matthew in Jack and his maternal grandmother Glenda Mitchell's care when she moves in to help bring up the children. Glenda, Amy, Matthew and Jack's son Ricky Mitchell grow close but eventually she realises she is not what Jack, Amy, Ricky and Matthew need to get through Ronnie and Roxy's deaths so decides to leave Walford, while promising to remain a part of Amy and Matthew's lives. After taking Matthew to the garden centre in February 2017, Dot has an accident in her car due to her eyesight. She and Matthew are unharmed and taken home by the police. When Matthew goes missing, Jack's brother, Max Branning, tells Jack that Matthew is at Dot's and when Jack goes to get him, Charlie answers the door, telling Jack they need to talk about Matthew. Jack reluctantly lets Charlie spend time with and look after Charlie. Charlie tells Dot that he has seen a solicitor about Matthew, who he plans to take back to Ireland with him. Dot tells Jack that Charlie is going to take Matthew back to Ireland and Charlie and Jack argue about it, with Jack later telling Charlie that he swore on Ronnie's grave to never leave Amy, Ricky and Matthew. When Charlie provokes Jack by saying Ronnie deserved to die, Jack punches him and Max tells Jack he may have lost his chances of keeping Matthew. Max learns that Jack still may get to keep Matthew despite the fight with Jack, so Max visits Charlie and beats him up to make it look like Jack did it. In April 2017, Jack is arrested and charged with assault. Dot attempts to mediate between Charlie and Jack, but they fail to come up with any solution and Jack plans to go on the run with Amy, Ricky and Matthew, but Dot tells Max and they talk him out of it. Charlie watches Honey Mitchell in the park with Amy, Ricky, Matthew and her children, Janet and Will Mitchell. Honey tells Charlie what a good father Jack is and Charlie informs Jack he has notified social services about applying for residency. Stacey Fowler tells Jack he has to work things out with Charlie. Charlie's wife, Liz Cotton arrives in Albert Square in place of Charlie and tells Jack about her job and family, trying to assure him that Matthew would have a good life and that Amy and Ricky would be welcome to visit. Jack phones Liz to arrange a visit and agree rules for Matthew, letting Charlie have residency. Jack and Dot are heartbroken when Matthew leaves with Charlie and Liz.
Charlie and Matthew return in December 2017 and Charlie explains to Jack the reason for their return is that Matthew refers to Jack as "dad". Charlie also tells Jack that he just wanted contact and that having Matthew full-time was not part of the "plan", so Jack demands to know what the plan was. Charlie tells Jack that Max set him up. After initially denying it, Max admits that he was responsible for Matthew being taken away as payback and Jack throws Max out. Meanwhile, Charlie leaves Walford once again with Matthew.
Reporters for the Daily Mirror called Matthew an "unfortunate boy".
Vincent Hubbard
Vincent Hubbard, played by Richard Blackwood, made his first screen appearance on 17 February 2015. The character and casting was announced on 17 January 2015. Blackwood praised bosses for the character of Vincent, stating he knew that his portrayal would surprise viewers given his comedy background. He is described on the BBC website as: 'a smooth operator, whose easy charm and quick wittedness covers a steely, ruthless streak and a reputation as a bit of a bad boy.' The BBC then go on to also state that Vincent 'believes himself to be the "main man" in the room, and knows how to play people to his advantage.'Pearl Fox
Pearl Fox, played by Arayah Harris-Buckle, is the daughter of Kim Fox-Hubbard and Vincent Hubbard. She was born during the live episode broadcast on 19 February 2015 during the show's 30th anniversary celebrations.Pearl is born in the ladies' toilets of The Queen Victoria public house after Kim goes into labour two months early. She is placed in intensive care following her birth and Kim is told that she has an infection. A week later, Kim has Pearl christened with the middle names Denise and Patrice, named after her sister, Denise Fox, and Denise's surrogate father, Patrick Trueman respectively, and is told that she has recovered from her infection. In March 2015, Kim is able to bring Pearl home to Albert Square. Eventually, Kim and Vincent reunite and Vincent moves in so he can become a proper father to Pearl. Kim and Vincent enter her in a baby contest, which she wins after Vincent pays the competition manager. As Vincent's feud with Phil Mitchell escalates in December 2015, Phil kidnaps Pearl while she is being looked after by Vincent's foster sister Donna Yates, but is safely being looked after by Honey Mitchell.
Gary Gillatt from Inside Soap observed that Pearl's name was his favourite "subtle touch" for the show's birthday celebrations, as Pearl is the gift traditionally given on a 30th anniversary. While Heat's Kay Ribeiro was disappointed that Kim did not name her after Queen Victoria, considering where she was born. Ribeiro also thought that Kim would have chosen "something suitably flashy and fabulous but chose the surprisingly demure name, Pearl. Oh well, each to their own." Katy Brent from the Daily Mirror commented "You'd think that being born in Albert Square, in the Vic, on the 30th anniversary of the show, would be a good omen for any baby. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case for baby Pearl, whose little life is hanging in the balance." Brent hoped Pearl would come through her illness, so there would be a happy outcome for a change.
Claudette Hubbard
Claudette Hubbard, played by Ellen Thomas, made her first appearance on 12 March 2015. Claudette is introduced as a friend of Les Coker and Pam Coker, before being established as the mother of Vincent Hubbard, as well as the foster mother of Donna Yates and several other children. Upon her introduction, the character was described as a "new steely matriarch".During her time on the show, Claudette's storylines included being accused of an affair with Les Coker, before it was ultimately revealed she was aiding his cross-dressing, her history with the Mitchell family, a feud with Babe Smith and ultimately being left for dead and buried alive by her son Vincent after revealing she was responsible for the death of her husband. On 13 September 2016, it was confirmed that Thomas would depart her role as Claudette and would leave the soap after being axed by the new executive producer, Sean O'Connor along with several other characters. Speaking on her exit, an EastEnders spokesperson said ""As our regular viewers will know, Claudette has often been seen coming and going from the to visit her family and friends" concluding that "this is the end of another stint for Claudette and we wish all the best for the future." She made her final appearance on 1 November 2016.